biker222

Hi,

I have a B17 with about 1000 mi and have tried a Selle Anatomica Titanico TruLeather saddle and have yet to get them to comfortably fit. I worked with a Pro bike fitter and still not able to get them to fit. On my non touring road bike I have used a Selle Itialia Turbo for over 15 yrs and was able to ride 50-100 mi reasonably comfortable. I am starting to try it as a replacement, but due to winter weather not able get road time in to test it. I am about 165-170 lbs - 5'11" height.

Any suggestions for substitute saddles for touring bike ( Surly DT 56cm) ?


Thanks

indyfabz

Terry Liberator Gel. Works for me on my LHT. Did 10,000 loaded miles in less than 2 yrs. on the original model (pre-gel days) and fell in love with it. Get one from REI and you can return it within 1 year if you don't like it. YMMV.

fietsbob

Ok the I got a (X) saddle .. reply theme;

My assortment: SS-M Concor Max, [ this was my Bike Tour saddle choice in '88 ,
for my first long European tour]

and Fizik Vitesse* and a WTB SST. Avocet touring II. (on winter bike, now)

More Brooks Pro like .. S-I turbo, SS-M Rolls.. (& 2 brooks Pro's)

* 2 bought thru Brompton Dealer ... & 1 a CP3, more cush , +royal gel window patch.
royal, Selle Royal another Italian company)

seeker333

I prefer my SI Flite to my B17, more comfortable.

A big wide heavy saddle does not necessarily equate to comfort for all users. Most users sitz bonz spacing is within the effective support width of an old racing saddle like the Flite @ 135mm. I'm an average (5'10") male and my sitz bonz spacing measures ~115mm, for example.

I also own and tried the Selle San Marco Regal and Rolls saddles. They are the same LxW. The Regal looks like a Brooks with the metal rivets. It is a firm saddle, probably more firm than the Flite (Classic). The Rolls is cheaper and is closer to a Flite padding-wise. Both SSM saddles are wider than Flite, 147 vs 135mm.

I quit using both SSM saddles and went back to the SI Flite. SI now makes a half dozen "Flite" saddles, but none are like the Flite they sold for ~20 years.

I've been wanting to try Fizik saddles for years but hard to justify the cost when I already have so many saddles in the bin.

imi

Selle Italia XO Genuine Gel works for me, fwiw

fietsbob

there are steel rail Fiziks , but the ones under the Pro racers , people emulate, are not cheap..

LeeG

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staehpj1

Personally I skip the touring saddles and use a road race saddle. I find that works well for me, but I do have the bar height the same fairly low height on all of my bikes (4-5" below the saddle). Those who sit very upright on tour may not find this works for them.

Thulsadoom

What are the problems you've had with the saddles you've tried? Perineal pressure? Numbness? Sit-bone soreness? You'll get better suggestions if you post what sort of trouble you're trying to avoid.

Machka 

You have tipped the nose of the saddle up? Some people like their Brooks tipped up a little bit and some like it tipped quite a bit. But a level Brooks rarely works.

bradtx

biker222, What is your riding posture? Aggressive or upright? Very generally the more aggressive the posture, the narrower the saddle and wider for more upright positions. I have a slightly aggressive posture that a SI Flite (and seeker333 is quite correct that none of the current Flite variations are quite like the original) fits best for me. Unfortunately we're all a little different and one rider's perfect saddle is another's ass hatchet.

Machka, brings up an interesting point about the Brooks saddles. Some seem excessively nose up, yet are perfectly comfortable. A friend says it's like a hammock and only works for the less aggressive postures.

Brad

djb

Machkas handlebars are set higher than seat level which is a factor, compared to staeph's, but her suggestion is a good one. With any bike seat, small adjustments can make a world of difference.

biker222

I have tried a number of positions - Various tilt up from level positions, level and slight down. None were a that comfortable as mileage increased. I did have Perineal pressure and some sit bone soreness. I also notice pressure area due to rear seat frame. Also some back of leg near hip area pressure that never happen with road bike config. The saddle is currently about 1/2 to 1 inch higher that bars. I have recently swapped out handlebars that came with bike to Civia HB5424 shallow drop bars. Have not had time yet to really test current config with SI Turbo saddle.

A little background: I raced bikes for about 12 yrs a number of yrs ago. I been riding more of higher performance road bikes for approx 35yrs. Last loaded bike touring I did was back in the 70s until last year.

djb

Mr222 (Tylenol or Karen Valentine? ;-)
sit bone soreness is completely normal until it takes to your shape, I weigh 140 and I figure it took about 7-10 hours of 1 hr rides until the sit bones werent sore (I limited initial rides to 1 hr simply from being sick of feeling sore sit bones) I had also read that Brooks were more critical for getting the position right, I dunno but it seemed that way to me. All that said, I am more comfortable on my two B17s than other bike seats Ive had over the years (Im middle aged) so I like them a lot, but given how much you have ridden, you know enough about riding and seat position to adjust things with small changes. I too had some rear seat frame pressure, but then went too far the other way before figuring that out. Again, a seat is a seat is a seat, B17s work great for me and can ride day after day without any issues, but if yours really doesnt work after taking the time to try diff positions, then just use whatever will work.
I would say that given how much you have ridden, the real diff between riding hard and touring is that with touring, you spend most of the time seated, and not hammering so much, so more weight on the seat and hands-which probably equates to wanting to have your bike set up really well for you so as to even out the pressure "triangle" of hands, butt and pedals.
The attached photo shows a bike of mine that I have toured on, but also ride regularly. The seat/bars drop is similar to what you describe, and the B17 works fine, but thats me.

You mention back of leg near hip area pressure that never happen with road bike config", all I can think of is perhaps the seat is a bit too high, could explain some perineal pressure too? I dunno, just an idea. Like I said, rear seat frame, certainly seems a fore/aft issue like I had, and sit bones, classic breaking in issue.

good luck with messing about with it, as I always say, its only a seat so if it really doesnt work, get another. Sorry I dont have any suggestions for specific models.

Thulsadoom

One thing to keep in mind:

It's always hard to go from a racing style set-up to a touring bike because you're not liable to be pedaling as hard on a touring bike. Therefore there's a lot more weight on the saddle. When you're zipping along on a fast road bike you just naturally pedal harder which effectively lifts a lot of bodyweight off the saddle.

For me to get comfortable on any touring bike saddle I have to have the bars up pretty good, which for me is 1-2 inches above the saddle height. I have to get much more up-right on the bike. That's when a leather saddle really starts to make sense.

My normal fast road bike has the bars well below the saddle and I have a very firm recing saddle on it. I do regular centuries on it and never have any discomfort. But again, I'm generally pedaling harder also.

You might consider setting your Trucker up for a more up-right position and give the leather saddles another try. Especially that Titanico, that's one super comfortable saddle for most people.

NOTE: wasn't trying to repeat what DJB said about hammering, he sniped me and posted while I was typing.

bradtx

It hasn't been too long since I built my touring bike, about three years. My background is similar to yours except I didn't race, but was a pretty decent club rider. At first I had the touring bike set up like a distance roadie with some left over roadie bits. Good, but not quite right, so I relaxed the fit a little and things came together like magic. The saddle on it now is a bit wider than a Flite (Serfas Ti) and I used a stem 2 cm shorter than normal.

My recent distance roadie build has a discontinued SI Q-bik flow that is showing promise for a compromise between narrow and wide. They're fairly inexpensive also, which is nice for experimenting.

Brad

biker222

Thanks for input. One problem with going more upright is the stem is at the top of steer tube height. The new bars have a little shorter reach than original HB. I have not really tested new config too much. A little on a fluid trainer. One thing also I have been noticing on the B17 was it was starting to splay outwards. Was thinking about lacing sides, but put on the back burner until more testing with Turbo.
The Profitter I was using suggested using a Fizak Aliante saddle which ran about $145. Not sure how well that will hold up for touring wear.
Aliante

Aliante

Machka 

Rowan's bicycle is on the left, mine is on the right ... see the tilts of the saddles ...

That's what works for us with Brooks saddles.




Also, some Brooks saddles take longer to break in that others. My first broke in after 800 km. The one on my titanium bicycle wasn't broken in after about 1600 km ... we very gently encouraged it and now it is a comfortable saddle. They're all different.

djb

[/QUOTE]Also, some Brooks saddles take longer to break in that others. My first broke in after 800 km. The one on my titanium bicycle wasn't broken in after about 1600 km ... we very gently encouraged it and now it is a comfortable saddle. They're all different.[/QUOTE]

Very good point. My two are quite different, the one I bought new seems to have more flexible leather than the one I bought used (my gut feeling is the harder one will last longer.
I like your term "gently encouraged".
To a lot of people they just seem to be a pain in the keester, and a chore to deal with, but once I got my first one figured out, I didn't like riding anymore on my other bikes seat which ended up with getting the second.

wheelinthai

I was going to comment that I had good long distance rides with Selle Italia :: SLR , but that was on my real road bike. I think the riding posture is quite different than touring. Nevertheless, I find all Selle Italia road saddles to be very good on mtb and cx bikes on the road.

bradtx

biker222, Fizik saddles are premium quality in my experience. The Nisene on my mountain bike has endured abuse with only minor scuffing. The Fizik website has an interesting section describing their saddles and best fitment.

Brad

staehpj1

It can be, but it doesn't have to be. I found my road bike supremely comfortable so I saw no reason to set up my touring bike much different. My mountain biking posture was honed back in my racing days so the position on it is also very similar to my road bike as well.

I am not knocking those who choose to sit more upright, but there is nothing about touring that really necessitates it even for old guys like me. It may be a preference and if it is that is fine, but don't automatically assume it will be better or more comfortable. In fact sitting upright can put more weight on the saddle and also allow road shock to go straight up your spine.

On the other hand if not used to it you need to go lower gradually as you log some long miles.

stevepusser

I was thinking of getting a couple of these (or from fasttech) and testing them; basically they are the same as the Tioga Spyder Saddles. The reviews all seem to be pretty good--except they may break in a crash

https://dx.com/p/vertu-ccav-s-cycling...e-black-230766

bradtx

Looks like they might be a little tough on lycra shorts also.

Brad

Thulsadoom

Truly no offense intended Paul, but you might want to consider the possibility that you are a bit of an anatomic oddity in that respect. I've never seen anyone else set up a touring rig as aggressively as yours is, with the bars 4-5 inches below saddle height. Most of us mere mortals would not last long on a tour with our rigs set up like that, that's more aggressive than my race bike. If I set up my bars 4-5 inches below saddle height, I would have to rotate my pelvis so far forward that probably 90 percent of my bodyweight would be off my sit-bones and on my perineum and other unmentionables.